Well I did suspect that this stuff would not be easy. After all I am a man of habit and when I need to change any one of them, it takes a great deal of effort. In fact most change is forced upon you and usually with a lot of resistance.
The last biggest change I have made voluntarily has been giving up smoking. It has been over a year and even though I occasionally crave a pull, I am proud to say I have managed to stay away. Now, I said I made the change but I have to admit that a few people around me were also attempting to give up. One of those was a close friend and we made a pact to encourage each other – or should I say motivate? Both of us are still non-smokers.
Do we need motivation? I think we do, even the most successful people need motivation and the truly exceptional can motivate themselves. For the rest of us, we need to be motivated to make change. Companies all over the world pay thousands to have their staff motivated. Staying motivated enough to change a habit or a work ethic or a mindset cannot be done is one sitting though – and that is the mistake many companies make – it has to be reinforced until the change is made. My non-smoking reinforcement – used less these days – is that I do not want to be in some exotic location when I do go to Africa and find that I cannot take advantage of the situation because I need a nicotine fix. More about this in future postings.
Believing what I do about the human condition and achieving a balanced life, I have been looking for inspiration and motivation. I have found loads of videos on youtube – people like Les Brown, James Ray, Jim Rohn, Sam Silverstein and William O'Neal. I have these inspirational talks saved and I watch them regularly especially when I feel myself slipping. I also have a few books written by successful people like Richard Branson and the Ballantyne fellow.
It is a constant battle you need to check your results regularly, adjust your strategy, attitude, philosophy until you hit the right 'numbers'. Checking your results requires time to reflect, meditation, dare I say it, spiritual effort. I have been doing a bit of this recently, not structured enough I think, so will need some fixing.
May you find the balance.
[First published on my Talking2Myself blog on specified date]